Organization Academy Where's Roxas?
by Allviran
Summary: Roxas is thrown into a new school and finds it hard to adapt. When starts having weird dreams about some Sora guy, everything at the Academy seems to fall apart all around him.
1. Introduction

Roxas rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He got up and, as quietly as possible not to disturb his roommate, made his way to the single small window, just as he would every other morning. With the sleeve of his pajamas, Roxas wiped away a circle of fog from the window to see down to the grass below, just as he would any other morning.

There was a change, Roxas noticed, from many of the days he stared through the window: a thin sheet of white blanketed the ground. It seemed like it was just yesterday when the flowers were blooming in a nice little line in the garden below, and people walked along the path of green grass. But now all the leaves fell from the trees and tiny scrapes of ice crystals echoed through Roxas' head.

Indeed, it had been at least five months since Roxas began his last year of high school at the Academy, but Roxas did not recognize it as that much time at all. Sure, he talked to some of the other guys at the school, but he never really had a non-school related conversation with anyone. It was already hitting the winter time and Roxas had not made a single friend.

There was the roommate, Roxas thought, looking over to his snoozing room-sharer. He was not that bad. Besides the fact that Roxas feared for his life every time Xigbar came back to the room angry or with a friend. That was when he knew it best to keep his distance from Xigbar; Roxas did not know what happened to Xigbar's previous roommate and he was not ready to find out..

Then Roxas thought of another person he knew from his science class, only because they had worked on a partner assignment together. Vexen was probably loving the blizzard. He was just the kind of person to love the snow. In fact, Roxas chuckled a bit at an image that came to his head of Vexen, at three in the morning, outside building a snow man or having a snow ball fight.

Because of the snow, all of the outdoor classes were canceled until the snow melted away enough to where people could walk through it again., without drowning at least. Which brought Roxas to another one of the few people he knew: Demyx. Just another person that was probably enjoying the increase of moisture in the atmosphere. Roxas could not help but wonder how Demyx and his roommate got along at all because, from what Roxas heard, Demyx's roommate, Axel, was a huge pyromaniac.

So Roxas knew a few people he went to school with… That did not mean they were friends or anything at all like that. Roxas tried to avoid making friends with the people… He had made a promise to his friends back home that he would never ever forget them. Hayner, Pence, Olette- they had all been such great friends to Roxas and he was upset to find that he would not graduate high school with them, but with a bunch of weird-haired freaks that did not like him anyway.

Roxas let out a soft sigh that made the glass fog again, along with his mind. If he was able to make it this far, Roxas had high hopes for himself that he would be able to make it till the end of the school year.


	2. Chapter 1

"Good morning, Xigbar," Roxas mumbled from his position at the window.

Xigbar stared at Roxas. "'Mornin. Do you always sit at the window like that?"

"Hm?" Roxas turned to face his roommate. "Oh, yeah, every morning right after I wake up…" Roxas looked back out the window. "Reminds me of how much I wish I were at home with my family and my friends…"

"That sounds great…. Hey, Rox, wanna do me a big favor and do my laundry along with yours? I won't have time later because I have plans with Luxord," Said Xigbar.

"Who is that?"

"Blonde."

"Uh…"

"You're right, that doesn't matter. Well, thanks, Roxas," said Xigbar. He, in that short amount of time, was already making his way out the dorm. "Later," he finished before shutting the door.

"Bye," Roxas replied after the door closed. That was probably the closest thing to a real conversation Roxas would ever get out of this stupid school. He just stared back out the window at the flakes that still fell from the sky.

Something broke Roxas' peaceful state with yells from the room directly to the left. He recognized the voices distinctly as those of Demyx and his roommate Axel. Roxas found it a bit strange that they were arguing so early in the morning- usually they would wait until the sun came up.

But on a blizzard day, the sun would never come up and neither or the two had any sense of time. Which, ironically, was the topic of the morning's argument. It did not interest Roxas to know what his neighboring students had to say, but some times the two were just so loud it was nearly impossible for one to not listen in.

"I think you are just jealous, Axel," said Demyx.

"Why, Demyx, would I be jealous of your useless sitar playing? Explain this to me," Axel replied, a lot louder.

"Nope, I can't hear you, Axel. LA LA LA LA!"

"I know you can hear me Demyx! Quit messing around!" Axel yelled.

It went quiet for a long period of time, five minutes at least. Roxas nearly jumped from his skin when he heard a knock at his dorm.

"It's open," Roxas replied.

The door slowly creaked open. "Hey, guys, sorry about all the extra noise. Demyx thinks he is the greatest musician ever…" Said the voice of Axel.

Roxas made a quick turn to the red-haired man. He found Axel standing in the door way in nothing but his underwear and wondered… why? It was early, but you would think that he could have at least gotten dressed before he ran around the dorms on campus. In fact, it was almost as if Axel was showing off something, or trying to at the very least.

"Oh," said Axel. "I thought Xigbar was still here. Sorry to disturb you, Roxas," said Axel, almost embarrassed.

"Um, no its alright. He said he was going to be busy today so he won't be back for a while. I can tell him you came over when he gets back though," Roxas offered politely. It was difficult, but somehow Roxas managed to not stare at Axel and his uncovered body.

"Yeah, thanks. Just tell him I need some help… planning. From Axel. Got it memorized?" Said Axel.

"Ye-yeah. I think I do…"

Axel chuckled. "Thanks, Roxas. You are a big help." Axel closed the door.

Roxas looked back out the window. "You aren't the first to tell me that today, Axel. But thanks anyway. I do 'got it memorized'."


	3. Chapter 2

All of Roxas' indoor classes were over faster than usual. Something about the snow made everyone not want to work for some reason. Well, he soon discovered that reason when he went to look through his window upon returning to his dorm.

There were snow ball fights, snow men, snow angels, snow just about what ever you could think of. And everyone went outside to enjoy the break from teaching and learning and homework. Roxas felt, as he looked down through the window, that he was probably the only person that was not out there having fun with their friends.

Roxas heard a yell from the hall. "Dammit, Demyx!" It was accompanied by a pound on the wall, and then a few angry stomps. Then, the most surprising of all sounds: a knock on his own door.

Roxas got up to open the door this time, so no one would think he was weird for staring at people outside. On the other side of the door, he found the tall red-haired man dressed in his back school uniform with a loose red tie for color.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, Roxas. You know we aren't allowed out in the halls for longer than necessary. Well, Demyx stole my room key so I'm locked out till he gets back from his stupid music session," Said Axel.

Roxas opened the door wider. "Sure, come in. Xigbar probably won't be back for a while…" Roxas warned.

"That doesn't matter. I just need some place to stay till seven thirty. Man I can't wait to kick Demyx's ass when he gets back," said Axel. With one hand he made a fist to punch into the palm of his other hand as he walked into the room.

Roxas shut the door and watched closely as Axel made his way over to Roxas' bed and took a seat at the edge. When Axel laid back with his hands behind his head, Roxas could not help but think of how comfortable Axel must have been. Would Roxas feel this comfort if he too collapsed across the bed in the same manner?

Next thing Roxas knew he was staring into warm green eyes, and they were staring back. They were laughing with each other and telling stories of where they came from. Roxas had forgotten the cold of the snow and the lonely feelings deep inside him. A fire had been created in its place.

A click at the door handle and Roxas and Axel sat up like lightning, slightly embarrassed about the entire thing. Neither had said so much as a word to each other, yet there they were, talking like they were the best of friends.

"Did you get the laundry done, Rox?" Xigbar asked. He had his back turned and could not see that he and Roxas were not the only two in the room.

"Yeah, I did it not too long ago," Roxas replied. "I folded up your stuff and put it on the floor next to your bed."

"Thanks, man." Xigbar turned around and went dead silent.

"Hey, Xig," said Axel with a tiny wave.

Xigbar's face changed with confusion. "What are you doing in our room, Axel?"

"I was waiting for Demyx to get done with his Sitar for Dummies class. He stole my key from me this morning before classes and I could not get into the room," Axel explained.

"Man, that isn't something you should be saying about your boyfriend," said Xigbar.

"Yeah he bugs the hell out of me. But somehow we are still together," said Axel with a nervous laugh. "In fact, what time is it? He should be getting out any time now."

Xigbar picked up Roxas' alarm clock with glowing red numbers. "Its eleven thirty at night. I think Demyx has been out for a while," laughed Xigbar.

Axel looked to Roxas. "Damn, I better get going. See you tomorrow in Lit class," he said. Then he got up and left, leaving little sound behind him as he went.

When Roxas was sure Axel was gone, he confronted the topic with Xigbar. "So… Axel is gay?"

Xigbar turned his head to look at his roommate and laughed. "Really, Roxas. You couldn't see that one coming? We are at a private school for only men. Men, Rox, men. That is all we have here. What else would you expect? We have needs too."

Roxas went silent. It was strange to feel so closed in by the fact that yes, he was at a school with all men. But some how it comforted Roxas to know that they were not all perfect men… Going to an all man school had its plus side too: now Roxas did not feel so alone.


	4. Chapter 3

Roxas woke up at around four thirty in the morning, just a bit earlier than usual. He ad a restless and short night, and he was tired, but Roxas did not want to go back to bed. The one time Roxas could thing without Xigbar or a teacher staring at him was when they were all asleep- a time he felt he could actually be alone with just himself.

Xigbar had made a good argument; they were all in their… blossoming stages. It could be expected that all the men were curious about… themselves. And the only people around were men and well, more men.

Back in Twilight Town, Roxas' home, the idea of men liking other men was almost unheard of. No one did it and if they did, they no longer lived in Twilight Town. It was not that the people were against homosexuality, it just never seemed to happen.

Roxas watched the snow fall onto the glass of the tiny window and melt away. It was still very dark outside; the only source of light reflected somewhere off the snow. Roxas guessed it was coming from someone's room- early studying probably.

"Staring out that window again, eh Roxas?" Said Xigbar.

Slightly startled, Roxas turned around. "Sorry if you think that is weird…"

"Not at all," said Xigbar with a yawn. "Just never thought that window was all that interesting. What you see when you look through it is different than anyone else."

"But wouldn't you expect everyone to see different things through the window? Though it is the same glass-and-pane, everyone looks through it with a different emotion, a different heart, a different past," said Roxas, touching a finger to the cold window.

"Hearts?" Xigbar almost laughed at the idea. "We are men, Roxas. We don't have any hearts. Sad truth, but we don't."

Roxas ignored this. It was impossible to not have a heart. You could not live without one.

There was a sudden bang on the wall from Demyx and Axel's room that pulled the attention of both Roxas and Xigbar. For a moment there was silence and the two had wondered if they had just dropped something against the wall, or… But Roxas and Xigbar had spent enough time in the room to know that no one ever was killed in the room next door. Still, it caught their attention every time.

Then there was a shout from Demyx, "Jeez, Axel, that was uncalled for!"

"You know you deserved that," Axel replied. Roxas could imagine the pleased smirk that must have spread across Axel's face to match the tone in his voice.

"I'm just going to play my sitar," said Demyx.

Roxas imagined Axel folding his arms and rolling his eyes, turning away. Axel would have been displeased, but not willing to show it to Demyx. It would have been far too embarrassing.

About a minute later, there was a knock at the door that Xigbar answered. Standing on the other side was none other than Axel. His visits became very frequent it seemed…

"Demyx issues?" Xigbar concluded.

Axel rolled his eyes. "You know how he is."

"I do. So why are you still with him, Axel. You two are complete opposites. It just doesn't make sense," said Xigbar.

Roxas watched as the conversation traveled from Axel (who was eventually invited in) and Xigbar. The two discussed features and flaws Roxas would have never guessed were there. Hearing the words they said tore Roxas apart, so he turned and focused on the tiniest detail he could find outside the window.

"Gotta admit, he isn't that bad," Axel said.

Oh look, some bunny tracks in the snow. Roxas wondered where they might lead.

"You have to seriously be in love with a guy like him to not ask for another room assignment, man," said Xigbar.

The bunny tracks were cut off by what looked to be wolf tracks.

"I'm going to go get dressed now," Roxas announced.

Axel and Xigbar looked at Roxas with blank stares. The both of them wondered if that was Roxas asking for a pass to the bathroom or if Roxas was just trying to steal the attention away from the conversation. Either way, Roxas got what he wanted.

"I'll just… go now." Said Roxas, closing the bathroom door behind him.

Roxas pulled off his pajama shirt and stared at himself in the tiny mirror. It was the first time he noticed, but the size of the mirror was almost exactly that of the window out in the other room. Roxas could barely see from the top of his head down to just below his bare shoulders.

"No, he doesn't talk much," Roxas heard Xigbar say, clearly answering one of Axel's questions.

"I would have never guessed that. I mean, I could see in class being shy, but even with you, Xig? You have always been kinda intimidating, I guess," Axel joked.

"Hey!"

"You know its true. I don't know how Xaldin and Luxord stand to be around you for so long," Said Axel. "Anyway, really. From last night, I would never have guessed that Roxas talked so little. I swear last night I saw into his soul or something."

"Into his soul? Come on, man, lets not get too carried away," said Xigbar.

"Yeah, whatever…"

Roxas heard what sounded like the door opening, but instead of hearing someone leave, he heard someone enter.

"Would you like to come back over to our room, Axel?" asked Demyx.

There was another strange silence that was broken by Xigbar, "If you two are going to do that, go back into your own room."

So they did.


	5. Chapter 4

Walking back to his room, Roxas imagined himself sitting in his warm bed and reading that book for his history class, maybe even doing the assignment that went along with. He might get a snack, or have the lunch that he skipped to study for his math test. Or, the idea that he liked most, Roxas could go to sleep. Yes, sleep would be nice too.

Before Roxas could reach the handle to his room, the door swung open and out came Luxord and Xigbar. Xigbar grabbed Roxas' arm and dragged him down the hall after Luxord. Roxas was too confused to ask why.

The next thing Roxas knew, he was standing outside with the snow falling softly on his head and shoulders. The ground had a fresh white blanket laid down, covering the scars of the previous day's games. The air was cool and a layer of gray floated forever in the sky. Just off the school grounds, the trees were covered with the ice crystals, as was everything else.

From out of nowhere a snowball hurled its way toward Roxas and hit his school uniform, leaving a white spot over the left pocket of his neatly tucked black fabric. Roxas looked down at the snow, then up to see where the source might have been. There was no sight of anyone, not even a foot print to be seen.

Suddenly, more and more snowballs came out of nowhere, pelting Roxas, Xigbar, and Luxord. Dozens upon dozens of the cold white balls hit them all over, knocking Roxas to the ground, and nearly the other two along with him.

When it finally stopped, Luxord yelled, "Alright, Xaldin, that wasn't very funny!"

There was a laugh that, more than the snow, brought a strange chill all the way down Roxas' spine. A voice accompanied it saying, "I thought it was. Lighten up, Luxy." The man appeared right behind Roxas, making him jump.

"Don't scare him, Xaldin. We are trying to get him to like you guys, remember?" Said Xigbar.

"What?" Roxas looked at Xigbar then shivered. Hugging himself loosely to stay warm, Roxas continued, "What are you talking about?"

Xigbar casually pointed up. "Axel said that he thinks you are too antisocial and tense. I'm starting to think he is right. All you ever do is sit on your bed and study. Dude, I think its time to lighten up a bit."

Roxas bit his lip to hide the smile that was slowly creeping its way to his cheeks. He pulled his arms closer to his body, but not to warm himself up, but to embrace the warm feeling he already had.

Suddenly, Roxas felt another snowball hit him on the arm. He turned and looked at Luxord who had just thrown the ball of ice. A smile crossed Luxord's face, responding to the expression of disapproval on Roxas' face.

Roxas leaned over and in his hand picked up a clump of the frozen white stuff. It felt nice against his fingers and he knew it would feel even better once it left. With that, Roxas balled it up and, while Luxord was not paying attention, Roxas hit him square in the chest.

Luxord looked down then back up at Roxas. With a smirk he said, "Its game time."

For about twenty minutes, Roxas and the others threw snowballs at each other and laughed when one got knocked over or got a face full of snow. And for the first time in a long time, Roxas felt that he was actually having fun with… friends.

Roxas looked up at the window to his room. It was dark. It was almost never dark, but it was dark. His eyes wandered for a moment and stopped on something that he stared at for almost a minute before he realized what he was staring at.

Axel.

Axel was sitting in the window of his own room, looking down at Roxas with a smile.


	6. Chapter 5

When Roxas got back to his room, he was so tired that he just flopped onto his bed and began to drift almost instantly. Xigbar went about his nightly business and all the while, he watched Roxas sleep with a slightly pleased smile on his face. The two of them both knew that before long all would be well.

A loud knock at the door startled Xigbar and made Roxas turn. Watching as Roxas tossed in his sleep, Xigbar, as quietly as possible, made his way to the door to answer it. On the other side he found a man, shorter than him, but looking much more authoritized.

It was Xemnas, the king of the punks. He was accompanied by his assistant who Xigbar recognized as Saix. Xemnas had his arms folded and a displeased look on his face. Saix not only held his own bag, but also Xemnas' bag.

"Man Sex!" Xigbar faked excitement in a whisper.

Xemnas took a deep breath before replying. "You should know better by now not to call me that. Besides that, I wanted to see you on your snow fun you were having earlier today."

"You saw that?" Said Xigbar, slightly embarrassed but not enough to show.

"Oh he saw it alright," Saix sneered.

"Saix, hush. Just about everyone saw that. And I have a problem with it," Said Xemnas.

"And I'm the only one getting in trouble for it? What about Xaldin and Luxord? They did it too," Said Xigbar, slightly offended.

"Do NOT speak until I have given you your space to," Said Xemnas angrily. "None of you are in trouble. However," Xemnas continued, ignoring Xigbar's remarks of joy, "it does not help our situation with Roxas if you are going to show off in front of the entire school."

"C'mon, Man Sex, it wasn't in front of the entire school," said Xigbar, holding back his laughter.

"It might as well have been," Said Saix. "The rest of the Organization saw and that is all that matters."

"The rest of the… It was Marluxia wasn't it?" Said Xigbar.

"Now why would Marluxia want to rat you out? We all know he is trying to destroy our group, but turning you in for something that is actually working to our benefit is not something that he would do to get back at you, Xigbar. You may not have gotten the memo, but Kingdom Hearts does not revolve around you," Said Saix.

"Not another word from you, Saix," Xemnas ordered. "The last thing we need is for our own group to fall apart while we are in the process of building it up."

"So what do you want me to do?" Xigbar asked.

"Continue with what you have been doing. Just try to stay more indoors, please. You know Sora and his group tend to stay more outdoors," Xemnas replied.

"That can't be all that hard can it?" Said Xigbar. "I mean, the most we really have to do is keep Roxas away from them right? We can take him to the library, because that is one place we know Sora will never ever be found."

Xemnas reached out and in one swift motion grabbed Xigbar by his tie and pulled him down far enough to where Xigbar had to look up to see Xemnas. "Don't screw this one up, Xigbar. We need this."

"Y-yes, Superior."

Xemnas released Xigbar and said, "Goodnight Number Two," as he closed the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 6

Roxas peacefully awoke late the next morning, fully aware that he had just begun his weekend. With a yawn and a stretch, he stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom to take his shower. He turned the knob and watched the water pour onto his hand as he waited for it to get warm. When it was just to his liking, Roxas stepped under the water.

For a moment or two, Roxas stood under the warm water just to feel it touch his bare skin; it tingled every place a drop landed. Roxas, for the first time in a while, was able to smile at his own thoughts at what was happening right now around him. He felt happy that he was at this new school and he felt happy that he had a wonderful roommate like Xigbar and he was especially happy that he had a friend like Axel.

As Roxas leaned over to grab for the shampoo bottle, he heard the bathroom door open and froze in his place, keeping as quiet as could be. To his relief, it had just been Xigbar, warning Roxas that he had a few visitors. Xigbar explained to Roxas that he did not know who they were but there were two boys waiting for him. Roxas responded and as Xigbar closed the door, he wondered who they two boys could be…

Roxas listened closely to the muffled voices thru the wall and instantly he was able to recognize the two boys as two of his best friends from Twilight Town, Hayner and Pence. At first, Roxas was filled with joy and happiness, then he felt somewhat foolish to not have thought of either of them being there, and then disappointed.

Soon enough, Roxas emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his weekend clothes and his hair in its normal style. He pretended not to notice Hayner and Pence until Roxas sat in his usual spot in the chair over by the window. He turned his head, and realized he was happier than he expected to be, seeing his two friends.

"Roxas!" Pence exclaimed, running over to give his friend a hug. From behind, Hayner smiled at the reunion.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

"C'mon, its winter break, we are out doing whatever we want," said Hayner.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "So out of all the things you decide you want to do, you decide you want to leave Twilight Town and come see me at my new school? What about Olette?"

"Olette… wasn't able to come with," said Pence sadly.

"She got sick. She was really excited to come too, probably mostly because its an all boy school, am I right? She wanted us to give you this, by the way," Hayner handed Roxas a small orange envelope.

Roxas gently pulled up the flower sticker holding the flap to the envelope. Inside he found pictures of himself with all his friends from Twilight Town. He smiled at a few as he flipped through them to remind himself what had been happening in the photo. When he was finished, Roxas placed the envelope and the stack of pictures on the tiny desk by the window.

A knock at the door made Roxas, Pence, and Hayner jump while Xigbar (who had managed to be very quiet and unnoticed) answered the door. "Hey Axel!" He said.

"Axel?" The three asked.

Axel pushed his way into the room and then stopped when he saw Roxas' friends. "Roxas… I was going to ask you something but seeing that you have company…"

"No," Roxas interrupted, "you are my friend too, Axel." Saying the word "friend" when referring to Axel almost did not fit and it left a weird feeling at the back of Roxas' throat when he said it. Quickly swallowing it away, Roxas continued: "Hayner, Pence, this is Axel. He is in the room next door."

"Hi there. How much do you know about Roxas? Because we know a lot; we are his best friends. I'm Pence," said Pence, holding out his hand for Axel to shake. "That's Hayner."

Hayner rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "We have known Roxas for a while now. You better not be beating on him too much, otherwise I might have to put you in your place."

"Like I would really want to harm Roxas in any way," said Axel.

"I can see right thru you and that other guy too. You are up to something and you better not bring Roxas into it," Hayner warned.

"Please guys, this is not the time to be arguing," Roxas interrupted.

"Pence and I have to leave, Roxas. We are here for a few more days in a hotel nearby. The number is one the back of one of the pictures if you need something from us. And Roxas, if these guys start anything, you better call," said Hayner. He grabbed Pence's wrist and they both unhappily struggled out of the room.

"Roxas, I-."

"So what did you want to say, Axel?" Roxas asked, sitting in his chair, staring out the window.

"Uh, how about I get back to you later today? You seem kind of occupied right now," said Axel. He turned around and walked slowly to the door – Roxas watched him leave in the reflection of the frosty window.


	8. Chapter 7

Roxas could not get the image out of his head- the one of the look on Hayner's face when he first saw Axel. It was a thoughtful look that suggested Hayner knew something that Roxas did not, a look of frustration that told Roxas that Hayner had issues with Axel's appearance and had almost instantly stereotyped him, and the look Roxas saw fro Hayner the most: jealousy.

Roxas sneezed.

"Sounds like someone is catching a cold," said Xigbar.

Roxas rubbed his nose and replied, "I doubt it. I don't get sick."

"Because you are just so invincible right? I saw how you responded to that look on the blonde kid's face. He was tearing down that perfect barrier you put up," said Xigbar. "He's trouble."

Roxas laughed quietly. "Of course he is trouble, its Hayner. He practically invented trouble…" Roxas sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't get sick," he repeated to himself.

Xigbar rolled his eyes. "I know someone that can get you something for that cold. His room is just down the hall. Come on, let's go." Xigbar grabbed Roxas and dragged him down the hall.

Roxas was told down the hall, and sure enough, the destination was just down the hall… _way _down the hall. He stood impatiently next to Xigbar and waited for someone to answer the door.

"Yes, that was someone at the door, you better answer it," said a voice from inside.

"I'm not answering it! What if it is Xemnas? I'm not answering the door for him," said another.

"Well why not? I don't understand what kind of problems you have with… Oh, hello!" said a man with long blond hair that Roxas recognized to be Vexen.

"You got anything for my roommate here? He is catching a cold and I don't want to get it," said Xigbar.

"Well, that's what you get for playing out in the snow. I'm sure Xemnas was not pleased with such action!" said Vexen. "And hello, Roxas. When were you going to decide you wanted to consult me about the science homework?"

"Oh… uh… It wasn't that hard when I looked it up in the textbook. It explained everything and I think I can handle it," said Roxas. He put his hands to cover his mouth as he coughed quietly.

"You hear that, Vexy? He can do it on his own, unlike _some_ people… Why can't you be more independent with your research?" asked the voice from behind the door.

Vexen looked back in his room and replied to the other person, "because I need a test subject who can do what I want for little payment. And since we are in the same room, I figured you would be best suited for the job."

"That's not what I was taking about!"

"Marluxia is throwing another fit?" asked Xigbar. "Just like him."

"Try 'still.' But I manage to keep myself sane with my experiments," Vexen replied.

Roxas looked at Xigbar, and Xigbar looked at Roxas, both wore the same expression of concern. Neither of them wanted to say, but both of them wondered what the definition of 'sane' was in Vexen's dictionary.

"Medication, right…" said Vexen. He shut the door and went back into his room to shuffle around and argue a bit more with his roommate, Marluxia.

"What was he talking about when he said 'Xemnas was not pleased'?" Roxas asked. "Isn't Xemnas the one with the white-ish hair?"

Xigbar refused to make eye contact with Roxas. "Ha, Xemnas thinks he owns the school. There really is only one thing standing in his way from it too."

"Really? What?"

Just then, Vexen emerged with three bottles of colored liquids, one had fog coming from the top. "This is for Roxas," Vexen handed Roxas the bottle with a pink liquid in it. "Its just a pain killer in a liquid form. Just because it kills pain does not mean it will kill you."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that…" Marluxia called.

"Don't mind him he has no idea what he is talking about…" said Vexen. "This one is for you, Xigbar." Vexen handed Xigbar the tiniest bottle with a little blue liquid inside. "Just the way you like it."

"Oh, and we all know how he likes it…" said Marluxia.

"Go play in your garden, Flower Boy. Oh wait, there is snow on the ground isn't there?" Xigbar mocked.

Vexen rolled his eyes and handed the final bottle to Xigbar, the one with the greeny-blue liquid and the fog coming from it. "And you know what this one is for, Xigbar. Be very careful with it."

"Got it," said Xigbar, taking the last bottle from Vexen.

Vexen stared his glowing eyes right into Xigbar's. "You MUST be very careful with that one," he stressed.

"Alright, alright. We better get going now," said Xigbar, pushing Roxas away from the room.

"What is that other one?" Roxas asked.

"Look, Axel is waiting for you!" said Xigbar.


	9. Chapter 8

Axel chuckled at the strange sight of Xigbar pushing Roxas down the hall with Roxas asking question after question. Axel waved slightly at the two as they approached.

"Hey, Roxas, didn't forget our promise did you?" Axel said while leaning against his door. "I've been waiting here for a while."

"Yeah, apparently I'm getting a cold. Which is not true, by the way," said Roxas, trying to hide a cough. He ran one of his hands thru his light hair and sighed.

"It will be fine, Axel. I got him some stuff from Vexen," said Xigbar, placing the bottle in Axel's hands. "This is just something to help take care of his cold."

"You went to Vexen for meds?" Axel exclaimed.

"Is there something wrong, Axel?" Xigbar asked with a stern tone and a glare.

Axel rolled his eyes and turned away from Xigbar. "Absolutely nothing is wrong…" He replied bitterly.

"I trust him, Axel. It can't be that bad. Vexen got us an A on the science project we did together and I sit next to him so I see that he knows what he is doing, especially when it comes to chemistry. Besides, I'm pretty sure this is just some other kind of medication he just poured into a little bottle," Roxas assured.

Axel sighed. "Alright then… Let's go in."

Roxas followed Axel into his room. Inside, the room had all the same furniture as Roxas' room, but it was all moved around so the beds were closer and the desks were across the room being used as coat racks and shirt racks and Roxas even saw that they were using the desks to store their underclothes.

"Ignore the mess," Axel advised. Only problem was Roxas was afraid that if he ignored the mess, he might get sucked in and become another part of the mess…

As careful as possible, Roxas climbed over all of Axel and Demyx's stuff they had scattered all over the floor. Instead of worrying about tripping, Roxas focused on the four very obvious colors scattered everywhere: black and white (because they were the colors of all the school uniforms) and the contrast of red and blue. Roxas had never seen Demyx up close before but because he knew Axel's favorite color was red he assumed that all of the odd blues on the floor and walls all belonged to Demyx.

"So this is our room. Not all that great for a school dorm but its been home to us for two years," Axel said. He took a seat on one of the beds and motioned for Roxas to sit as well.

When Roxas finally made it to the bed, he sat next to Axel. "Um… I guess you made it kind of… homey?"

"I wouldn't say that… We just have not cleaned it yet. Its Demyx's turn to clean the room and he is still at his little practice session…" Axel's mind began to drift off as he picked up one of the blue shirts off the floor and played with it a bit in his hands.

"You mean your room actually gets cleaned sometimes?" Roxas asked, slightly surprised.

Axel threw the shirt across the room. "Yeah, we keep it clean for the week days and on Friday night all hell breaks loose."

Roxas could not imagine what kind of "hell" Axel was talking off, nor did he want to.

Just then, another person walked into the room. From the little accents of blue he was wearing around his black and the sitar he held in his hands, Roxas was able to conclude that this man was Demyx, Axel's roommate and… other things that Roxas did not want to think about.

"Axel, I'm back!" Demyx exclaimed. He laid down his sitar very carefully and ran over to wrap Axel in a big hug. He made a point to not even see Roxas as he ran by.

Axel pulled Demyx down on top of him as they tumbled backward onto the bed. Both of them were giggling, at least from where Roxas sat. And Roxas had even moved away a bit to get out of the way.

Not wanting to see anymore of this, Roxas got up and stumbled his way clumsily to the door. "Bye, Axel," he said quietly before shutting the door behind him.


	10. Chapter 9

"You need anything to drink, Roxas?" Xigbar asked. It was the twentieth question he had asked Roxas since Roxas had walked through the door and just flopped onto his bed. Xigbar found it quite peculiar for Roxas to be so shut out. Even when Roxas was not friends with anyone at the school, he still seemed to have a little more interaction…

Roxas sat up. "Sure," he replied looking over at Xigbar. He turned himself to the edge of his bed and stepped onto the hard, carpeted floor. "I will be in the bathroom."

When Roxas got out of the bathroom, Xigbar had returned with a cup of water for his roommate. Instantly, he forced the cup into Roxas' hands. "Drink up, it will make you feel better," said Xigbar.

"You put Vexen's stuff in this, didn't you?" Roxas immediately concluded.

"He said it would make your cold go away."

"Fine." Roxas drank it all down without stopping to breathe. "I feel kind of tired, Xigbar…"

"Vexen said that one of the side effects might be drowsiness. It's alright, just the weekend. Go to bed," Xigbar insisted.

Roxas nodded in agreement and climbed into his bed. "G'night."

"I will be in Xaldin and Luxord's room," said Xigbar before turning off the light in their room and shutting the door as he left.

"Yeah…" Roxas yawned and closed his eyes…

_When Roxas opened his eyes, he was looking straight into the face of a boy almost identical to himself, only younger. The boy was smiling brightly and just a few inches from Roxas._

"_I was afraid you hurt yourself when you fell," he said to Roxas._

"_Who are you?" Roxas wanted to say. His mouth moved but no audible words came out._

"_Its me, Sora!" The boy replied. His smile was fading._

"_S-sora?" Roxas managed to choke out._

"_Who else would it be? Mom has been looking for you. I was afraid to tell her what happened so I came to find you myself," Sora said._

_Roxas sat up. "What happened to me?" He tried to ask Sora, but again no words came out. He looked around to see that Sora had disappeared._

"_Come over here, Roxas!" He heard a voice call from behind._

_Turning around, Roxas saw a girl with light white hair, dressed in white. She wore a friendly smile and was beckoning Roxas to follow her._

_Roxas ran to follow the girl but the closer and closer he got he noticed a change in her appearance. Her hair got shorter and darker and her clothes as well. By the time Roxas had caught up with her, she was a totally different person._

"_Hey there, Sora, I have been waiting for you," she said with a smile._

"_I'm not Sora," Said Roxas. This time, his voice was loud and echoed, but the voice he heard come from his mouth was not the voice of Roxas. It was Sora's._

"_If you aren't Sora, then who are you, silly?" she said to him._

_Roxas opened his mouth but was afraid to speak. He mouthed the words to her, 'Kairi, you promised…"_

_She walked a circle around Roxas and as she did her appearance changed back to that of the girl he saw before that he had been chasing. "Namine…"_

"_Yes, Roxas?" The girl turned around and starred Roxas in the eyes._

"_What's happened to me?"_

_Namine put one finger on Roxas' lips to keep him quiet. "Your brother is looking for you, Roxas," she said._

"_Why would Sora be looking for me?" Roxas asked._

"_No more words, Roxas." Namine turned around and walked away from Roxas into the never-ending white._

"_Wait!" Roxas called after her. "Kairi, you promised!"_

_Namine turned around and winked at him, then continued her journey._

"_That's enough, Sora," whispered a voice from right behind Roxas. _

"_My name isn't Sora," said Roxas. He tried to turn around but his feet were stuck and his body would not respond to anything he told it to do._

"_Oh, come on, Sora. Its me, your best friend."_

"Roxas, its me, your best friend." Roxas heard Axel's voice and felt a slight tug on his shoulder, jerking him awake.

Roxas sat up and looked around the room. Axel was there standing closest to Roxas' bed. Demyx was just behind Axel. Then there was one person with long blue hair, almost illuminating. Roxas had seen him once and was pretty sure his name was Saix.

"Axel?"

"Are you ok?" Axel asked Roxas.

"Yeah, fine… Just had… a strange dream I guess."

"You were yelling in your sleep," said Demyx.

"Was I?" Roxas rubbed his forehead. He was starting to get a little headache.

"How about we all just go to bed? We can take this situation up with Xemnas in the morning," said Saix.

"Get some sleep," Axel ordered. He and Demyx left the room.

Saix took one last glance at Roxas before he left the room.

Roxas was unable to fall back to sleep that night.


	11. Chapter 10

Roxas spent most of that morning gazing out the window. It was still very dark when he actually sat down in his chair. Leaving off the light so there would be no reflection on the ground below made the night seem just that much darker than it already was. Or it could have just been the thick fog that clouded his mind…

Not too long before, Roxas was awakened by the inhabitants of the room next door, Axel and Demyx. But mostly Axel. Roxas tossed this thought around with the other events of the past night. Let's see… Xigbar gave him water with Vexen's medicine mixed in it. Roxas passed out, like, right after that.

The dream was freaky enough in itself. Sora, Namine, Kairi… Who were all of those people? And how did they know Roxas? They seemed so close – so familiar – in the dream. Around them, Roxas felt like a hole inside of him had been filled. It confused him, but Roxas secretly decided he kind of liked the feeling the three mysterious people gave him.

And then there was Axel, the tall red-head from the room next door. In the dream, Roxas remembered a familiar-sounding male voice from behind him… His best friend's. But when Roxas tried to turn around, he was stuck in place, so he was never able to put a face to that voice. Even now he could not understand why that male voice seemed so comforting. Maybe it was because it was those words "it's me, your best friend" that caused Roxas to wake. When Roxas finally opened his eyes, a different voice spoke those words, but they came from Axel.

Roxas' best friend.

His thoughts were abruptly intruded by his dorm room door swinging wide open and a delirious Xigbar stumbling to enter the room. "'Ey Roxas, man!" He said upon entry. Roxas turned around to see his roommate standing at the doorway, halfway leaning in. His (visible) eye was red and his face was splotchy. He wore the same goofy grin he would put on that let you know he had been having a good time. Roxas was not sure what Xigbar did when he went to hang out with the other members (members? Why was he thinking of the others like members now?) And Roxas was pretty sure he was ok being left in the dark about that one.

"Hey, Xigbar," Roxas replied with monotony. Roxas watched as his roommate stepped into the room and collapsed onto one of the beds squished into their tiny dorm. Roxas decided that he was one hundred percent sure he did not want to know what Xigbar did on his outings. He stared at Xigbar's suddenly motionless body for a moment before turning back to staring out his little window.

"Roxas," spoke a soft, yet commanding voice. It startled Roxas; he had not expected anyone to have followed Xigbar. So who was standing at the door…?

Roxas turned around to see who it was at his door calling for him. The room was still dark but Roxas could make out the silver hair and deceptively young-looking orange eyes glowing. His actual height was not nearly as tall as he looked. His back was straight and he held his head high as he entered the room slowly. He had an aura of authority hanging over him.

Suddenly, Roxas felt the urge to stand as the mysterious figure entered the room. Roxas blushed slightly in his abrupt reaction. "You're, Xemnas…" Roxas heard himself speak. He wondered where he knew him from, and Roxas concluded that they must share a class together.

He nodded. "I am." He sat at the very end of the bed Xigbar had just crashed on. "Roxas, I need you to meet someone in the library at noon today. You will explain to him your dream and he will assist you in understanding what it meant."

"How do you know about my dream?" Roxas asked. He felt uneasy; he never explained he had a dream to anyone… How could Xemnas possibly know about it? Who was he sending Roxas to and why would he be able to help? Roxas was not sure, but he knew one thing: he was not going to easily trust Xemnas without more detailed explanations.

"When Axel heard you through the room next door, he called Saix. Saix then informed me. That is how I know about your dream," He replied very matter-of-factly. He raised his chin a bit as he inhaled, as to further emphasize his importance and authority.

Suddenly more than just the dream flooded back into Roxas' memory. He remembered sitting up at Axel's side with Demyx and Saix staring down at him. He told them he had a strange dream was all. Apparently Roxas had been screaming in his sleep. So said Axel, so said Demyx, and now so said Xemnas.

Roxas shifted in his chair, unable to sit still. Xemnas was intimidating with every move he made. Roxas folded his arms then unfolded them in the same loose movement. Xemnas sat straight and still. Roxas moved his chair a bit closer to the window and settled himself back in. Xemnas slowly raised a brow.

"So… Who am I supposed to meet at the library?" Roxas said, raising his voice. He didn't want to show any kind of emotion around this guy. Especially fear.

Xemnas stood. "When entering the library, you will make your way to the table at the very back of the fiction section. He will probably be buried under a pile of books. I expect you to dig him out and tell him about this dream of yours. There is no need to show up alone, for we want you to feel welcome. Bring whoever you like along."

Roxas opened his mouth to say something. He badly wanted to protest, to ask more questions and find out exactly what was going on. He deserved to know what was going on! He immediately shut his mouth when he realized that Xemnas was not here to explain what was going on, but he was leading Roxas to find his answers. Even though he looked terrifying, he was helping Roxas, so he couldn't be all that bad.

Right?

Xemnas slowly and gracefully walked towards the open door. "Can I count on you to do this for me, Roxas?" His tone was unnaturally gentle, but he obviously was not waiting for an answer from Roxas. He closed the door behind him on his way out.

The clicking sound of the lock echoed through Roxas' mind long after Xemnas was gone. Sudden relief washed over Roxas as he relaxed in his chair. He was definitely gone.

Xigbar turned over in his sleep and made a low grunting sound, reminding Roxas that he was not alone quite yet. But Roxas did not understand why he suddenly felt so uneasy around Xigbar. Was there some kind of connection between Xigbar and Xemnas? If so, what could it possibly be?

More and more questions haunted Roxas' mind as he stared out the window into the cold, cold morning. Roxas wanted nothing more than to destroy all of these thoughts that did not belong. He had never been this paranoid when he lived back in Twilight Town with his friends, or at least he could not remember a time.

_There were many times of his past he could not remember._

Roxas shook away this thought. It was the last thing he wanted to think about now. He concluded to himself that at noon he would meet up with this person in the library. But he would do it alone.

And for now, he would wash away all of those painful thoughts and antagonizing questions with a nice, warm, early-morning shower. He deserved it.


	12. Chapter 11

Xigbar was still crashed out on his bed when Roxas threw on his black and white checkered-print scarf to head out the door. He knew the Academy had two separate schools: girls and boys. The only time the girls and boys would cross paths was in the library and various research centers connecting the campuses. In order to keep the boys separate from the girls, the dorms had to be very far apart. It was going to be about a thirty minute walk to get to the library and that gave Roxas plenty of time to decide what parts of the dream he would share and what parts he would not.

Stepping out of the dorm, Roxas passed by many people he did not bother to notice. The grounds were fairly busy this morning. It was normal for all of them, but not for Roxas. When? When did his life begin to get so out of hand? He pounded his fist to his forehead in time with his footsteps to keep these thoughts from seeping back into his mind.

He tried to think of things that would distract him. He thought about… Axel. Yes, thoughts of Axel seemed to burn away all of the ugly thought of Roxas' world falling apart. It helped Roxas earlier when he was in the shower so it could help now too.

_You thought about him while you were in the shower?_ The voice echoed in his mind. It wasn't quite his voice, but one similar to his voice. It mocked him. _You are such a pervert._

_I wasn't thinking about him like that._ He snapped back at the voice. He was certainly not about to let this little voice he created in his head become his worst enemy. But still…

_Why else would you think about someone while in the shower?_ The voice in his mind laughed at him. Despite the mocking, Roxas felt the voice had no malicious intent. That did not make him feel any better about it though.

_The bathroom is like the number one place to stop and think. _He reasoned. _And it shouldn't matter what I thought of, as long as it helped me calm down. Which it did. Success._

_Still, to think of another guy while in the shower is a little bit… queer, don't you agree, Roxas? Bet Demyx has a lot of fun with that._

Roxas stopped walking. "I am not going to even consider that right now. I have more important things to be worrying about," he said to himself aloud. Immediately, the echoing voice in his head disappeared. Roxas smiled, pleased that for the first time in a while he had a good control over his own thoughts.

In seemingly no time at all Roxas arrived at the library. The building was literally in the middle of the forest, completely surrounded by leafless trees. Dim yellow lights flowed from windows that lined the building making it seem like a warm and inviting atmosphere. Hopefully it would be a little homier and welcoming on the inside of the library than it was back at the dorms…

Opening up the large doors, he was careful to try and remain quiet; it was, after all, a library. It was obviously not his first time in the library. Roxas decided as soon as he got to the school that the one thing about this school he would allow himself to enjoy was a good grade. And good grades could only follow hard work and studying. However, he had never bothered to enter the fiction section of the library, for he never found the need to.

_Well, here goes nothing. _Roxas held in a sigh as he made his way to the very back of the fiction section. Just as Xemnas had said, there was a large pile of books covering the table and also a nice amount flooding the floor. At first, Roxas could only see a brown-haired girl (girl? What are the odds?) sitting at the table with her head buried in whatever she happened to be reading at the time. As Roxas peeked around the table, he saw two other people behind and also somewhat under the towering books.

Roxas tried to step quietly over the books on the floor, but tripped and just barely caught himself on the table before he could cause an even bigger mess than there already was. One of the guys at the table looked down as Roxas lay pathetically over the books and shook his head, allowing his light blue hair to sway with a certain amount of attitude.

"Clumsy as ever, are we Roxas?" He smirked behind the long fringe that covered his right eye. He carefully placed a bookmark into the book he had open on the desk and closed it before reaching his hand out to Roxas to help him up. "I'm Zexion."

Roxas looked up at him, his face flushed. Roxas hesitantly grabbed the hand of the stranger and pulled himself up. "H-how…?"

"I was informed that you had quite the interesting dream the other night ago, likely due to the medication Vexen administered. Not an uncommon side effect. Nevertheless dreams are dreams and they still tell us so much. If you would, pull up a seat and tell me about this dream of yours," He said. He carefully pushed some books further down the table so he could clearly see Roxas from the opposite side of the table without towers blocking their view.

"Well…" Roxas began as he pulled out the seat so he faced this other guy. "There were three people in the dream that I didn't know. One of them called me his brother and the other two were girls." Roxas found himself deliberately leaving out that last person in his dream that he was never able to see, but called him his best friend. This was one part that Roxas had planned to skip.

"Did they give names?" Spoke the other guy. He was very tall and was sitting right next to the one Roxas was originally talking with. If he was not so tall, Roxas would probably have forgotten he was even there.

"Yes, that is a very good point, Lexaeus. Did they have names, Roxas?" Zexion asked immediately.

"Um…" Roxas tried to decide whether or not it was a good idea to tell them the names of these people. He finally reasoned that they probably had no idea who these people were – hell, Roxas himself had no idea who these people were. "Sora, Kairi, and Namine were their names."

Zexion's face twisted with curiosity and some other emotion Roxas was unable to recognize. "Sora, you say? Please continue with your dream."

"Um…" Roxas felt uncomfortable telling Zexion all of these things about his dream. Why had everyone suddenly taken such an interest in him? It was just a stupid dream after all. Zexion himself said it was probably just a side effect of the medication Roxas had taken the night before. "The dream took place in a big empty white space of… nothing I guess."

Zexion pulled out a pen and paper and began scratching some notes down. When Roxas paused, Zexion nodded and leaned in, waiting for Roxas to continue.

Roxas shied away from continuing. "Can we get back to this… At another time?"

Lexaeus folded his arms and sat back in his chair. "Today is the only day we are available for a while."

"Oh… Uh…" Roxas swallowed the hesitation at the back of his throat and told Zexion about everything he could remember about the dream – aside from that very end piece that he decided he still wanted to keep to himself. All the while, Zexion was scribbling down little notes and encouraging Roxas to keep talking through body gestures. By the end of his explanation, Roxas was a little out of breath.

Zexion looked over his notes and flipped through a few pages. A few things he would stop to read, others he would nod to or shake his head. When he was done examining his notes, he leaned back in his chair in the same manner Lexaeus had and spoke his next few words to this friend. "It seems that Sora will be a bigger problem than we had originally expected. Not too big, but Superior will certainly want to hear about it."

"What are you talking about?"

Roxas was barely able to say the words when he was interrupted by the girl at the other end of her table slamming her book shut and rising dramatically to her feet. "That is such an awful thing to say about Sora, he isn't a problem to anyone!" And then she ran off, book in hand and her brown hair flowing behind her.

"Who is Sora, does he go here?" Roxas demanded. His frustration was building; it seemed that everyone in this school knew more about everything than he did and none of them were sharing. He decided: if he was going to share any more information with Zexion, then Zexion would have to share an equal amount of information.

"Yes, Sora is a student at the Academy." Lexaeus turned his head slightly downward and away from Roxas.

"Why is Sora suddenly starting to appear in my dreams? None of this makes sense! What did you write down? What does the dream mean to me? What do they mean to you?" Roxas threw all of the questions in Zexion's face at once with great force.

Zexion stood and Lexaeus mirrored. "We need to be off now, but one way or another, I will get you the answers you desire, Roxas." And with that, the two of them left that table at the back of the fiction section of the library, abandoning their messes behind them.

Roxas sighed heavily as he watched them leave. He began contemplating the dream and that mocking voice almost snuck its way back into his conscience, but Roxas began cleaning up the mess of books all over the table and floor to keep that voice at bay. Once he had finished fixing up the books a little bit, Roxas ran out of the library and headed back for his dorm room as fast as he could.

There was someone he desperately needed to talk to.


End file.
